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| A photo of Lee Kuan Yew |
Lee Kuan Yew served as the first Prime Minister of Singapore. He held the post for decades and guided the city-state through its rocky beginnings to becoming an "Asian Tiger." Throughout his life, Lee Kuan Yew succeeded in taking Singapore from a weak former colony to an economic powerhouse. He often courted controversy for his authoritarian disposition and his tendency to be "politically incorrect." Several of his more famous and interesting statements have been collected in the book Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World.
The book collects Lee Kuan Yew's statements on topics ranging from the rise of China to Islamic extremism. Lee's most interesting statements have to do with culture and the role it plays in the success of society. He makes numerous statements applauding the United States's entrepreneurial culture and China's emphasis on saving. For me, his realistic emphasis on culture and the role it plays in economic success and political stability run counter to the conventions of Western politicians. The ethnically Chinese leader of a former British colony didn't have to worry about the international community branding him racist or imperialistic (though some still did).
Lee didn't shy away from the fact that certain cultural attributes contribute to a nation's success. Lee reshaped his nation after it gained independence by changing it to compete on a global scale. His administration emphasized education and sacrifice. It took only a few decades under Lee's guidance to raise the tiny, island nation of Singapore "from the third-world to the first-world." It's certainly easy to find wisdom in Lee's speeches. I wholeheartedly agree with Lee's critiques of welfare-democracies and socialism.
Lee is famous for mentoring many Chinese leaders and still openly criticizing the Chinese Communist Party. It doesn't take a genius to see the affect of Lee on Chinese government policies. From his emphasis on societal order and the paramount importance of economic development, Lee's thinking certainly impacted generations of Chinese leaders. I hope my nation of the United States never losses the "frontier spirit" that Lee admired in us. We must take care of ourselves and each other. We simply cannot depend on any government, state or federal, to effectively fulfill our needs as a society. As Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Lee did shy away of asking this of his countrymen like most 21st century politicians.
